Kresy

Kresy, or Kresy Wschodnie (Eastern Borderlands), is a Polish historical term for the eastern territories that formed part of the Second Polish Republic between 1918 and 1939. The name denotes the borderlands beyond the Curzon Line, a multiethnic frontier region that today lies mainly in Belarus, Lithuania, and Ukraine, with remnants in Poland.

Geography and administration: In the interwar period the area included several former Crown lands and voivodeships, notably Wilno (Vilnius) Voivodeship, Nowogródski Voivodeship, Polesie Voivodeship, and parts of the Volhynian, Lwów (Lviv), Tarnopol, and Stanisławów Voivodeships. The region encompassed areas of present-day Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine, and was characterized by a diverse mix of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews, Lithuanians, and other communities, with towns, villages, and rural settlements interwoven.

History and significance: Kresy represented Poland’s eastern frontier during the interwar era, a zone of major cultural exchange and demographic diversity. The borders and governance of these lands were contested, including disputes with Lithuania and tensions along the eastern frontier with the Soviet Union. Following the 1939 invasion of Poland, the eastern territories were annexed by the Soviet Union and subsequently incorporated into the Ukrainian, Belorussian, and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics.

Legacy: After World War II Poland’s borders shifted westward, and most of the Kresy lands became part of the USSR. Population movements and resettlements accompanied these changes. The term remains a reference in Polish memory to a historic, multiethnic border region that played a central role in the country’s interwar history and cultural landscape.